Sarfaraz announces retirement from international cricket

LAHORE: Former Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed announced his retirement from international cricket, bringing an end to a two-decade-long career.

In a statement issued by the Pakistan Cricket Board, Ahmed said he had “always tried to play fearless cricket and build a united team”.

His captaincy saw the green shirts achieve a world-record streak of 11 consecutive T20I series victories and recorded six clean sweeps against the West Indies (2016 and 2018), Sri Lanka (2017), Australia (2018), New Zealand (2018) and Scotland (2018).

“It has been the greatest honour of my life to represent Pakistan. From leading the U19 team to a world title in 2006 to lifting the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017, every moment in Pakistan colours has been special. I am grateful to my teammates, coaches, family and the fans for their unwavering support throughout my career,” he said.

“Captaining Pakistan across all formats was a dream come true … Seeing players like Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali and others grow into match-winners during my captaincy is one of my proudest achievements,” he added.

More to follow.